Residents of Bohn Hall have evacuated their rooms after a pipe burst on the 13th floor of the building around 7 p.m. on Monday night.
It is reported that the flooding from the pipe was caused by vandalism after a toilet flush-o-meter was kicked off the wall in the 13th floor “A” wing bathroom.
The break caused water to flow through both the “A” and “B” wings of the 13th floor and has spread to other parts of the building. The flooding was discovered after a locksmith was able to get into the locked bathroom but not before the water had been running for some time.
“It was a dark, dank fishbowl,” said undeclared freshman Zoe Gleason.
An email was sent out to students after the pipe burst advising those on the 10th, 11th, 12th and 13th floors to evacuate and stay with a friend for the night. Students in the flooded rooms could also make arrangements at the front desk of the building to be placed in empty spaces in other residence halls on campus.
Roommates Sara Lefkowitz and Gabriella Stellacci, a public health and marketing major respectively, live on the 13th floor and were alerted about the flooding after a resident assistant knocked on their door. They used towels to barricade the door and said that at least an inch or two of water had seeped into their room.
Students stuffed towels under their doors to stop the water from spreading into their rooms. Kyra Maffia | The Montclarion
One of their friends Rebecca Nicholaou, a freshman marketing major, also lives on the 13th floor and said they all were not sure where they were going to go for the night. When it came to packing their bags, the three girls brought with them the essentials, like their laptops, chargers, clothes, face wash, toothbrushes and toothpaste.
Other students, like undeclared freshman Meryl Kurland, live on floors not directly impacted by the flooding but chose to leave because there was no running water in the building after the water was turned off following the pipe burst. Kurland is planning on staying with Gleason in her dorm in Dinallo Heights.
Bohn Hall resident assistants mop up the water in the lobby. Alexandra Clark | The Montclarion
Along with the water being shut off until further notice, the elevators in Bohn Hall have been shut down due to the flooding. Along with the specified floors that were affected, the Bohn Hall lobby has flooded slightly due to a leak in the ceiling and students were advised to be careful walking in the slippery stairwells.
Students took to Snapchat to show the conditions in Bohn Hall.
Sergio Rivas, a freshman sports marketing major, grabbed a pillow and a small bag with him as he was leaving the building. Rivas is on the football team and has access to one of the offices in the Panzer Athletic Center and said he plans on sleeping there tonight.
Freshman sports marketing major Sergio Rivas grabbed his belongings from his Bohn Hall dorm room before heading to the Panzer Athletic Center to sleep for the night.
Alexandra Clark | The Montclarion
The University Police Department and the Bohn Hall staff are unable to comment at this time.
This is a developing story.
– Published in The Montclarion on Feb. 1, 2018
